Broken Glass

When Buddy reported for his shift they had a good laugh. “You know Davey, it is pretty unusual to be driving along some stretch of highway and run smack dab into someone’s bedroom.” With this, the two men had another good laugh before Davey left his post. Buddy had decided the traffic was finished for the night as he took his place on the rock. Just before daylight a car approached. As it pulled up along side of Buddy’s lantern he heard men talking inside the car. One of them asked, “Is there trouble up ahead?” “No,” said Buddy. “I’m just directing the traffic around my sleeping family.” “Are they sleeping right here?” one of them asked. “Yes sir, they sure are,” Buddy answered. There was something about these two men that gave Buddy a strong sense that all was not right, then, just as he was considering calling Davey back, one of them pushed a gun out of the open car window and said, “Just suppose you share some of that money that we know you are carrying.” “I’m afraid you have this all wrong. We aren’t carrying any money. We are just trying to get to a town so we can wire some of the family in Phoenix to send us gas money.” The driver of the car said, “That’s a very interesting story mister, but we are not fooling. We want your money and we want it now.” The man with the gun waved it so close to Buddy’s face he could feel the air it stirred up. “Just shoot him and let’s be done with it,” the driver said. “A voice came out of the dark, low and steady, “I think you better tell your partner to hand that gun to my friend before I leave a hole in your head with this one.” “Give him the gun! Give him the gun!” the driver screamed. Before either of them knew it, Buddy had the gun. The voice in the dark said, “I do believe you fellers might be doin’ yourself a favor if you just drive away.” The men thought that was sound advice and quickly put their car in gear and wasted no time taking the voice’s advice. Buddy did not recognize the voice and wondered who the Good Samaritan was. Buddy held up the lantern to get a better look at the figure coming toward him. “Archie!” he whispered, Thank God man! You really saved us.” He could see the grin on Archie’s face, even in the dim light of the lantern. When he was next to Buddy he said, “Ah, it was nothin’ Bud.” He then added, “I think I was scareder than them men were.” “Well boy,” Buddy said, “You sure were ‘Johnny to the rescue,’ and I’m mighty proud of you. I can’t wait to tell the folks we have a genuine hero in our family.” For the first time in Archie’s lonely life, he felt as if he ‘belonged.’